“THERE IS NO ROOM – THERE IS NO MONEY”
At the height of the Syrian refugee crisis in late 2015, this website penned a lengthy editorial entitled “Heartless: With Reason.” Its basic contention? That a nation deep in debt and unable to provide for its own citizens should not permit its borders to remain perpetually open to non-citizens.
We’ve never breathed fire on the issue of immigration, but we’ve also consistently argued that border security is one of the few things government was constitutionally bound to do. And should do.
Forget the national security arguments associated with this issue for a moment – although these are compelling and deserve to be discussed in light of the refugee-perpetrated terror attacks that have rocked Europe.
Our focus … as it usually is … has always been on the bottom line.
From our column …
… in responding to well-expressed, well-intentioned arguments in support of accepting refugees we must humbly ask the following question: At what point does embracing our shared humanity and extending compassion to foreign nationals start compromising the sustainability of our own country?
(Hint: Look in the rearview mirror).
Or put another way: If the lifeboat we’re in is sinking (as it most assuredly is) then what on earth do we expect to happen when more weight is added?
Answer: We all go under.
Indeed. This is the elemental, undeniable, unfortunate reality of our current situation: Not only is America’s lifeboat already full – it is overflowing. And not only is our nation broke – it is twenty trillion in debt (with more red ink coming).
Like it or not, there is no room. And there is no money.
We also noted in our column that “compassion cannot be compulsory,” and that government should refrain from making it so. Not only that, it should refrain from further warmongering in the Middle East (costly interventionism which, oh by the way, is what created many of these refugee crises in the first place).
This month, U.S. president Donald Trump – true to his campaign promises – has imposed a four-month hold on refugees from Syria and six other Muslim-majority nations.
“Deteriorating conditions in certain countries due to war, strife, disaster, and civil unrest increase the likelihood that terrorists will use any means possible to enter the United States,” Trump wrote in his order. “The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those approved for admission do not intend to harm Americans and that they have no ties to terrorism.”
This is obviously a dramatic shift in policy from the administration of former president Barack Obama – which boasted of it success in admitting Syrian refugees. It is also a dramatic shift from the planned refugee expansions embraced by former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Trump’s order has sparked chaos, confusion and predictable apoplexy on the part of the far left and its legacy media mouthpieces. Liberals and the legacy press (wait, we repeat ourselves) were livid. Meanwhile the warmongers who created all these foreign crises blasted Trump for empowering the propaganda efforts of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
“I think the effect will probably in some areas give ISIS some more propaganda,” warmongering U.S. Senator John McCain said during a Sunday interview with CBS’ Face The Nation.
“I think the affect [of the latest immigration EOs] will probably, in some areas, give ISIS some more propaganda.” –@SenJohnMcCain pic.twitter.com/jJI3D3axCn
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 29, 2017
Really? What about our Middle Eastern “allies” and their de facto subsidization of ISIS? Or all those weapons we left in the Middle East for ISIS soldiers to scoop up?
And again … what about our role in creating the Syrian refugee crisis?
McCain didn’t mention any of that … nor did he mention the $4-6 trillion American taxpayers have already shelled out over the last fifteen years (or the thousands of American lives lost) prosecuting a “War on Terror” that has succeeded only empowered our enemies.
Anyway …
Look, we get it. It is hard to say “no.” It is even harder to say “no” to people who are genuine need. This is especially true for fiscal liberals, whose support for costly and compulsory compassion has always been boundless.
It’s easy to be benevolent with other people’s money, isn’t it?
Don’t get us wrong: If there are individual Americans (or U.S.-based religious organizations or nonprofits) looking to spend their own resources in an effort to meet these needs – we have no problem with that. As long as these refugees are properly vetted from a national security standpoint, we see no problem empowering those who wish to assume certain humanitarian obligations.
In fact such needs-based, compassion-based, faith-based advocacy should be encouraged.
But as we exclusively uncovered in our own backyard here in South Carolina, that’s never been what this is about. This is about far left organizations raking in federal tax dollars to relocate refugees who will then impose lasting obligations on the communities where they are relocated.
Our nation’s taxpayers – who up to this point have been given absolutely no say in this matter – are simply in no position to assume those responsibilities. Period.
As much as some might wish otherwise, America’s life boat is full. And America is broke – due in no small part to the ill-conceived global interventionism that has fueled the present refugee crisis.
So, we can leave our nation’s borders wide open if we want. But doing so is a guarantee that those of us currently in the life boat will drown. And that’s before we even begin discussing the sort of people we might be helping into the boat.
(Banner via iStock)